Akhtyrskaya

 

 

On July 2nd 1739, Daniil Vasiliev the priest of the Church of the Protecting Veil in the town of Akhtyrka, Kharkov Gubernia, when mowing hay near the church, saw in the tall grass an icon that depicted the Mother of God contemplating the crucifixion of Her Divine Son. The icon was irradiating a blinding light. Saying prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos, he brought the icon into his house, where it was then venerated only by the members of his household, who did not dare to spend the nights in the room with an icon which so miraculously appeared. Three years later, on the feast of the Protecting Veil, the priest saw light emanating from the icon, which was as bright as the sun's glare, and soon he saw a vision of the Mother of God in a dream. She commanded him to clear the icon from dust and, after having washed it with clear water, to cover it with a coverlet. The priest, full of fear, awakened and immediately fulfilled the command of the Heavenly Queen. Later that night, he dreamed that when he was walking to the river to pour out the water with which he had washed the icon, the Mother of God stopped him and instructed him to asperse all those suffering from fever with that water, for they would be healed with it. Fulfilling the Queen's command, the priest gave his daughter, who was suffering from a malady, a drink of that water, and soon she recovered. After that the icon wrought numerous other miracles. On Empress Elizabeth' instructions an investigation was conducted to establish the authenticity of these miracles and in 1751 the Holy Synod ordained that "this icon be venerated as miracle-working." Feast day: July 2/15.